'Parties paid Rs 1,000-2,000 per vote, gave liquor as bonus'

BENGALURU: Nagavalli (name changed) in Byatrayanapura earns Rs 2,000 per month from every household she works as a domestic help. However, during this election, her earnings shot up with workers from two major political parties landing up at her doorstep, thrusting money into her hands and asking her to vote for their respective candidates.

"While in previous elections we got Rs 500 per vote, this year, both the Congress and the BJP each paid us Rs 1,000 per vote," said Nagavalli.

According to sources in political parties, rates are fixed on the basis of 'candidature' and 'requirement' of votes from a particular community or locality. A domestic help in BTM Layout, where home minister Ramalinga Reddy is fighting BJP's Lallesh Reddy, who is the nephew of mining baron G Janardhana Reddy, has been given Rs 2,000 for her vote by each party. Here, this rate is because of the 'candidature' factor.


In rural areas, money was equitably distributed among various communities and people. Primarily targeted at youngsters, parties in Badami reportedly sent out liquor bottles and Rs 15,000 cash to a hamlet of 300 houses. In Badami, where CM Siddaramaiah is in a faceoff with BJP candidate B Sreeramulu, a taxi driver said in the past 15 days, 'parties' were arranged and cash flowed freely.

"Towards the end, we had been told Rs 700 per vote will be paid. In some cases, where villages did some hard bargain, close to Rs 2,000 was given per vote," he said, adding that Thandas (Lambani hamlets) managed to get a better deal.